By Ishmael Edjekumhene, a Commissioner at the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), has revealed that the decision to levy a fine of GHS 5,868,000.00 on members of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) board originated from PURC’s legal department.
Following its announcement in a letter issued by PURC on Monday, April 15, the legality of the fine’s imposition came under scrutiny.
The imposition of the fine was in response to ECG’s violation of Regulation 39 of L.I. 2413, which mandates prior notification to consumers before any power interruption.
Speaking on the legality of the imposition on the Citi Breakfast Show on Citi FM on Tuesday, April 16, Mr. Edjekumhene told the host, Bernard Avle, that “we acted on the advice of the legal department, and there are legal precedents to this.”
Mr. Edjekumhene clarified that the fine was directed at the board members to prevent its conversion into tariffs for consumers if imposed on ECG as an entity.
He further noted that this is not the initial instance of fining ECG for its inefficiencies.
“We were advised by the legal department that we can charge it on the board because we didn’t want it to come through or be paid through a tariff.
“We quoted relevant provisions of the Act upon which we were imposing the fine and this is not the first fine we have imposed on ECG. We imposed a fine on them when the issue of buying prepaid arose.”
